Bengaluru: A prolonged delay in flowering and setting of fruit due to extreme temperature already cost mango farmers dearly. At a time when farmers were hoping to recover their expenses, incessant pre-monsoon showers, along with hailstorms and gusty winds, wreaked havoc not just on mango cultivation but also on other fruit and vegetable crops across Karnataka.As per a joint assessment of the crop losses carried out by horticulture and revenue departments between March and May 26, Karnataka lost fruits and vegetable crops worth Rs 42 crore cultivated on 2,005 hectares of area due to erratic pre-monsoon showers. “Almost all horticulture crops suffered damage due to unseasonal rain. The worst-hit crops include mango, banana and papaya among fruits, and cabbage and tomato among vegetable crops,” explained a senior horticulture official at Lalbagh.“All the top mango-producing districts suffered losses due to rain. Kolar saw the worst damage, with heavy showers affecting mango production on 598 hectares, followed by Koppal and Bidar districts,” a joint director of horticulture explained. Siddarama Swamy, a progressive mango farmer in Kolar’s Malur taluk, said, “The summer affected us badly, and now rain is inflicting even more damage. About 50% of our mango crop was lost. Due to strong winds and hailstorms, fruits fell, and whatever was left on the trees failed to develop properly due to lack of sunshine. We used to deliver our mango varieties in late May and early June. But with severe crop damage and short supply, price of fruits will go up in coming days,” Swamy said.Banana plantations were also badly impacted by the rain and strong winds. In Chamarajanagar, a district known for banana cultivation, the crop on 130 hectares perished. Across Karnataka, banana crop on 522 hectares was lost due to rain.Several major vegetable crops also rotted on fields due to excess moisture and pounding rain. “Cabbage crop on 15 hectares and tomato on 80 hectares in Kolar district were affected,” the official explained. Among the districts, Koppal suffered huge losses to the tune of Rs 7.3 crore, and Kolar sustained losses worth Rs 4.7 crore.Ranganath, a retail vegetable trader from Kanakapura who sells cabbage and leafy vegetables in Bengaluru, acknowledged the losses. “Despite the demand, there is hardly any supply from districts like Kolar and Chikkaballapur. If you increase the price due to short supply, people won’t buy vegetables, and you cannot keep them for more than two days.”Munireddy, a tomato farmer from Kolar, said, “Unlike previous years, bulk prices crashed and traders bought tomatoes at Rs 2-3 per kg. But in retail, they have been selling them at Rs 10-15. We are unable to recover even labour expenses, let alone earn a profit.”— Hamsa G & Sutapa Dey